NA Chairman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan met with Speaker of the RoK National Assembly Moon Hee-sang on the sideline of MSEAP 3 in October in 2018 in Antalya,Turkey. (Photo: Trong Duc/ VNA)

In 2009 Vietnam and the RoK set up a strategic partnership that which has seen fast and comprehensive growth since then, reflecting a political will and determination on the part of the leaders and people to raise relations to a new level.

Effective cooperation in various fields

The RoK is Vienam’s biggest foreign investor, second largest supplier of official development assistance (ODA) behind Japan, and third largest trading partner, behind China and the European Union (EU). Bilateral cooperation mechanisms have been maintained, such as the Vietnam – RoK Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation and the Ministerial-level Inter-Committee on cooperation in nuclear power, energy, and industry. 

Between January and October, two-way trade surpassed 54 billion USD. The Vietnam – RoK free trade agreement signed in 2015 is expected to boost trade to 100 billion USD by 2020.  As of October, the RoK ranked second among 104 countries and territories invested in Vietnam, with total registered capital of 6.5 billion USD, 23.4% of the total foreign investment.

Vietnam is the RoK’s biggest ODA recipient. The Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) provided Vietnam 1.2 billion USD from 2012-2015 and 1.5 billion USD from 2016-2020 for green growth, infrastructure construction, and human resource development projects. RoK’s ODA projects have proceeded on schedule and disbursement has increased annually.

Last year, Vietnam received 2.5 million tourists from the RoK, 56% more than in 2016. Between January and October, 2.8 million South Korean tourists visited Vietnam. There are 1,000 flights per month between the two countries.

Culture, sports, and people-to-people exchanges have increased. The RoK Entry and Exit Management Department reports that over 190,000 Vietnamese are currently living in the RoK. Vietnam hosts about 150,000 South Korean citizens, mostly businesspeople. People-to-people exchange events have been held regularly to enhance mutual understanding and trust. 60 provinces and cities of the two countries have signed cooperation agreements. The two governments are negotiating an agreement on judicial support in civil and trade affairs to ensure the legitimate rights of their citizens living and working in the other country.

New momentum for Vietnam-RoK strategic partnership

Parliamentary relations between Vietnam and RoK have been strengthened and promoted bilaterally and multilaterally. Speaker of the National Assembly of RoK Chung Ui-Hwa visited Vietnam in 2015 and speaker Chung Sye-kyun visited Vietnam in 2017. The Vice Chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly, Uong Chu Luu, visited the RoK in 2017. The countries have regularly exchanged legislative delegations.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan’s visit to the RoK affirms Vietnam’s respect and wish to lift the partnership to a new level, while supporting South Korea’s New Southern Policy.